In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of the Earth, one of the Greek primordial deities, and is seen as the ancestral mother of all life. The British independent scientist James Lovelock adopted the name for his scientific explanation of how the Earth system works. Gaia science shows that living organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings to form a synergistic and self-regulating, complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet.

Centre piece of the project is ‘Gaia and the Globe’, written and composed by Peter Horton, of Gaia’s Company, a fun, interactive and entertaining play with songs. It tells the story of how James Lovelock ‘discovered’ Gaia as a scientific idea and went on to develop it into a theory with the distinguished micro-biologist Lynn Margulis. Supported by Arts Council England, we used the script to explore, improvise and devise a colourful kaleidoscope of music, sketches and surprises and presented a ‘taster’ of ‘Gaia and the Globe,’ which celebrates the social, cultural and personal implications of the Gaia world view. To support this, fun and immersive workshops were delivered to four schools in North Devon and Exeter.

“Gaia and the Globe” Show & Tell took place on 24^th September at 19h30 at the University of Exeter                    Roborough Studios, Roborough Building, Prince of Wales Rd, Exeter, EX4 4SB 

‘in Gaia we are just another species, neither the owners nor the stewards of this planet. Our future depends much more upon a right relationship with Gaia than with the never-ending drama of human interest’.